With a six-game losing streak raising the competitive ire of everyone Celtic ? from players to fans to the front office ? Paul Pierce is hoping the club will think twice before reshuffling the deck.

While the club is clearly not finished making changes, the captain is hoping any moves will add ? not remove ? players from the main five around which it is building. Pierce is hoping that he, Wally Szczerbiak, Al Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins and Delonte West are able to see this process through.

Though many would love to see a major move before the Feb. 23 NBA trade deadline, Pierce knows that at a certain point a deal can only add to the gestation period for contending.

?If we?re trying to go anywhere, you have to start somewhere,? Pierce said after yesterday?s practice. ?You have to have a core group of guys and then build around that. If you keep changing your core group of guys, it?s hard to build any consistency.

?You want guys to grow and get better together. My first couple of years we had the same core guys who stayed together and got comfortable together. That?s why we got better as a team.?